Man Sentenced To 14 Years In Armed Break-In

HARTFORD — A man was sentenced Friday to 14 years in prison, plus six years of special parole, for breaking into his ex-girlfriend's home with a gun last year.

Byron Gordon, who is in his 50s, had pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary, carrying a pistol without a permit and violation of a protective order.

Prosecutor Chris Pelosi said Gordon grew increasingly violent toward the woman after she broke off the relationship. In one incident in November 2011, he choked her and stopped her from calling for help, Pelosi said.

The woman was so afraid for her safety that she replaced the locks to her Hartford apartment, changed the code to her security alarm and installed surveillance cameras, Pelosi said.

Gordon can be seen on the security video walking up to the woman and putting a knife to her neck, Pelosi said. He threatened to kill her, the prosecutor said.

On April 1, 2012, he broke into the woman's apartment with a .38-caliber handgun, Pelosi said. Gordon, who lacked a permit for the gun and was to have no contact with the woman, covered her mouth when she screamed and said he could kill her if he wanted to, Pelosi said. The woman was not seriously injured.

Pelosi said Gordon's ex-girlfriend could have eventually been seriously injured or killed.

The woman broke off the relationship when she found out Gordon had a wife in Jamaica, Pelosi said.

Gordon's public defender, Bruce Lorenzen, said the woman was the only "human contact" Gordon had in the United States and he "lost it" when the relationship ended.